08311
April 22, 2008

Mission Initiative reaches 25th missionary deployed

Wheartys are latest new mission personnel fully funded by campaign

by Emily Enders Odom
Associate, Mission Communications

LOUISVILLE – With the announcement that Bruce and Lora Whearty will begin their mission service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in August, the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands (MIJHH) is celebrating the deployment of its 24th and 25th new mission co-workers since the campaign was launched at the 214th General Assembly (2002).

MIJHH is the five-year campaign of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to raise $40 million for new international mission personnel and for church development in the U.S., particularly racial-ethnic and immigrant congregations. 

In her new position, Lora Whearty will teach at Bethel Mekane Yesus Girls’ School, while Bruce Whearty will train teachers at the girls’ school and other institutions.

The Wheartys’ appointment cleared its last hurdle in April when the final dollars needed to fund their positions were secured. They will attend orientation in July with a class that could include as many as 11 new mission personnel.

Experienced educators, the Wheartys’ teaching skills have been honed in the public school classrooms in their native Montana and at a Presbyterian school in Vanuatu, where they served as Presbyterian missionaries from 1992 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2005. 

Bruce Whearty, who is pursuing a doctorate in education, will be writing his dissertation on teacher training in Ethiopia. He hopes his work will help streamline the teacher training process and make it more effective.

Lora Whearty is excited about contributing to the development of young women. “For me to have a hand in empowering them to gain a voice and place in the leadership is a gift beyond all measure,” she said.